The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of New Guinea Impatiens plant, botanically known as Impatiens hawkeri, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Tamar Cherry.
The new Impatiens is a product of a planned breeding program Inventor in Maasland, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to develop new Impatiens cultivars with uniform plant habit and attractive flower and foliage colors.
The new Impatiens originated from a cross made by the Inventor in 1994 of the Impatiens hawkeri cultivar Martinique, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,149, as the male, or pollen parent, with the Impatiens hawkeri cultivar Prepona, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,150, as the female, or seed parent. The cultivar Tamar Cherry was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Maasland, The Netherlands in 1995.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken at Maasland, The Netherlands, has shown that the unique features of this new Impatiens are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Tamar Cherryxe2x80x99. These charateristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Tamar Cherryxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Impatiens cultivar:
1. Large, rich purple red-colored flowers.
2. Freely flowering habit with flowers positioned above or beyond the foliage.
3. Upright, somewhat outwardly spreading, rounded, uniform and compact plant habit.
4. Freely branching growth habit.
5. Dark green leaves.
In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Maasland, The Netherlands, plants of the new Impatiens differ from plants of the male parent, the cultivar Martinique, in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Impatiens flower earlier than plants of the cultivar Martinique.
2. Plants of the new Impatiens display flowers above and beyond the foliage whereas plants of the cultivar Martinique display flowers within the leaf canopy.
3. Flower color of plants of the new Impatiens is lighter than flower color of plants of the cultivar Martinique.
In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Maasland, The Netherlands, plants of the new Impatiens differ from plants of the female parent, the cultivar Prepona, in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Impatiens are more uniform in growth habit than plants of the cultivar Prepona.
2. Plants of the new Impatiens display flowers above and beyond the foliage whereas plants of the cultivar Prepona display flowers mostly within the leaf canopy.
3. Flower color of plants of the new Impatiens is more purple and not as red as flower color of plants of the cultivar Prepona.